Chapter 5: Ethics

Encountering Philosophy - Free Intro to Philosophy

Travis Joseph Rodgers

Ethics is one of the major branches of philosophy. While there is a great deal of debate about how precisely to carve up the full territory, ethics lands beside metaphysics and epistemology as “the big three” branches. Ethics is not just central to philosophy; it’s also central to living a human life. The major concepts ethicists explore include goodness (what is good?), rightness (what actions should I perform?), and happiness (in the sense of, what makes a happy life?). There are, roughly speaking, three major sorts of ethical schools of thought. It’s also worth discussing Relativism, as it’s a position many outside philosophy regard as initially appealing.

Relativism

People in different cultures behave in different ways. So, it’s tempting to think that morality (not just judgments about morality) is relative to one’s culture. According to this view, one’s culture sets the standard for right and wrong behavior. If a culture approves of bigotry, then the members of the culture should be bigoted. If the culture rejects compassion, then its members should shun compassion, too.

There is, on this view, no moral standard independent of one’s culture. When two cultures disagree about an action’s moral status, whatever culture A approves of is right for culture A’s members, and whatever culture B approves of is right for culture B’s members. And that’s all there is to the matter from a moral point of view. James Rachels has penned a famous critique of the position, including a forceful attack on a common argument that aims to prove cultural relativism is true.

Consequentialism

Some ethical theories focus on the results of our actions. In the famous ethical dilemma, where a trolley is speeding toward a group of five people tied to a track, many people think that it’s a good idea to divert the train to another track. Unfortunately, there is one person tied to the alternate track, and those paths the only two options. If you think that the right thing to do is to divert the threat from the five to the one, thereby trading one death for five lives, then you’re keyed into the basic insight of consequentialist ethics. Only the results matter. So, just do the best you can.

The best-known form of consequentialism is Utilitarianism, originated by Jeremy Bentham and developed by John Stuart Mill. Utilitarianism has many flavors, but the general idea is stated in the Greatest Happiness Principle. Producing utility is all that matters (consequentialism). Net utility is a sum of pleasure minus pain (hedonism). And everyone’s pleasure and pain count equally (impartiality).

Deontology

Some ethical theories focus not on the results of our actions but rather on whether we’re following the rules as we act. Following these rules is our duty, and we are bound to do our duty. You might think that utilitarianism, as discussed above, treats individuals as resources. That theory suggests I should trade one person’s death for five people’s lives, as if they’re all just a slice of humanity. But perhaps there are rules that we are obligated to follow, even if it makes the world a worse place. Perhaps, for instance, I don’t get to take innocent lives just to save more people. Perhaps I must keep promises even if that leads to some worse outcome. And perhaps I don’t get to take your property just because you’ll use it in bad ways.

Deontologists come in two major forms. Kantian Deontology, from Immanuel Kant, includes one rule. The so-called Categorical Imperative states that we should “act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.” Although the process for determining which rules pass Kant’s test is complex, the general idea is clear. We should look for rules that have certain specific structures to them. We should avoid all other actions. We are not permitted, for instance, to make special exceptions for ourselves. Our rules must be universal, applying to all rational creatures.

W.D. Ross was a proponent of pluralistic deontology. On this view, there are multiple sources of obligations, and we must determine which is the most “incumbent” or “weighty” at a time. These obligation sources are called prima facie duties. So, if I have promised to assist someone, but I can do a slightly greater amount of good by helping a stranger, the prima facie duties of fidelity (staying true to our word) and beneficence (benefiting others) seem pitted against one another. I must determine which is the more pressing obligation.

Virtue Ethics

Some ethical theories focus on becoming good and behaving like a good person. Good people are virtuous, and virtues are the character traits such people have. While different authors identify different candidates for virtues, there is a great deal of overlap. The four so-called Cardinal Virtues are Courage, Justice, Self-Control, and Wisdom. Consider courage. The person who becomes courageous becomes well-equipped to see when courage is needed (to overcome danger for something worthwhile), will be appropriately motivated to behave appropriately (they will not be too fearful or too confident), and, finally, they will behave appropriately because of their courage (they will stand up to the danger or will retreat, depending upon the risks and the value of making a stand).

Plato’s work focuses on the virtues, especially his Laches (courage), Euthyphro (piety – which governs human and divine relationships) and Republic (justice). Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is an extended treatment of quite a few virtues and the role of pleasure as a motivator or distractor from virtue.